Jack Campbell Books

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John Campbell is an American author that writes science fiction and YA fantasy. Born in 1956, Campbell attended Lyons High School in Lyons. Then he pursued international relations at the US Naval Academy.

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Campbell was a Gunnery Officer and then a Navigator and Administrative Officer on the USS Spruance. Eventually, the military sent him to the Navy Anti-Terrorist Alert Center. The author spent his final stint at sea in the Western Pacific.

His career finally came to an end at the Pentagon. While the Military awarded him several accolades, Campbell was more than ready to embrace civilian life when his service ended because it allowed him to embark on his publishing journey.

The author remembers writing his first science fiction stories in high school. Most of them never saw the light of day, except for a short story he sent to ‘Analog.’ Ben Bova was surprisingly pleasant in the rejection letter he sent young Campbell.

Like many people his age, the author took an interest in SF after reading ‘The Mastermind of Mars’ in Elementary School. It took two decades for Campbell to accumulate the skill and experience required to turn that interest into a piece of fiction worth publishing.

The writing assessments he encountered and intelligence reports he prepared taught him copy editing and proofing. When his wife finally urged the veteran to give writing a go, Campbell couldn’t think of a suitable idea for a novel.

So he decided to hone his craft by writing and submitting short fiction. The rejection slips he received did little to discourage him. Because he was writing short fiction, Campbell was okay with starting over, writing new stories, and submitting them.

The author appreciates professionals like Stanley Schmidt, that could have rejected his submissions and moved on. But instead, they included words of encouragement that pushed aspiring writers like Campbell to persevere.

The author did just that. Marion Zimmer Bradley from Fantasy Magazine told writers to stop sending dragon stories. But Campbell refused to listen. He wrote a dragon story and submitted it. To his surprise, Bradley bought the story, which gave the author the drive to write and submit more stories.

Stanley Schmidt bought his second and third stories. At the time, Campbell was somewhat aimless. He had no clear strategy for pursuing his publishing career. The best decision he ever made was joining SFWA and attending Worldcon.

Worldcon introduced him to an Ace editor that told him everything Ace was looking for. She also left the author her card and happily received the first chapters of ‘Stark’s War’ once Campbell wrote and submitted them. He could hardly believe his fortune when she offered him a contract, setting Campbell on the path to becoming the military SF author people know and love today.

Jack Campbell Awards

Campbell’s accolades include the Epic YA eBook Award (2018).

Best Jack Campbell Books

Jack Campbell’s real name is John G Henry. He introduced the pen name because the books written under his real name were beginning to underperform. An editor suggested that a pseudonym would give his next series a stronger chance of succeeding. Campbell’s best books include:

Dauntless: Their fleet was stranded in enemy territory. But they wouldn’t succumb to despair, not when history’s greatest soldier watched over them.

However, Captain John Geary was still struggling to find his footing in a world he barely understood. Every man, woman, and child in the Alliance knew his name. They revered him because of the soldier’s heroic last stand during the early days of the war with the Syndics.

When they retrieved him from hibernation a century later, Geary was shocked by the hero worship he encountered. And now that the Alliance fleet was on its last leg, Geary was not sure he could live up to his exaggerated reputation, not when so much was on the line.

Fearless: Black Jack Geary was doing his best. With the Alliance fleet trapped in Syndicate space, they had turned to a century-old soldier hoping for a miracle, and he had delivered, using tactics from his time to overcome Syndicate forces time and time again.

But the fleet was starting to lose faith in Geary’s leadership. Captain Flaco was the last straw. Once they brought him aboard, he tried to wrest control from Geary’s hands. Now the Fleet is split in two. Can Geary fend off both the Syndicate and Flaco?

When Does The Next Jack Campbell book come out?

Jack Campbell doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is In Our Stars and was released on May, 21st 2024. It is the newest book in the The Doomed Earth Series.

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